CURRENT MISSION

Survive in Cali, play some music, meet chill people.

ABOUT ME

I'm 22 years old, and I've lived in Alabama/Georgia all of my life. Since I was a little kid riding a
skateboard I always dreamed of moving to California. Now that I've finished my undergraduate degree and reached the right point in my life, I'm bringing this dream into being. I visited Cali two weeks ago, having never been there before, and it really felt like home. My main draw to Cali is going to graduate school in the fall at JFKU in Pleasant Hill to pursue Somatic counseling psychology. More importantly though, I need to be around open- minded, diverse individuals. CA offers me such an experience much more so than GA.

Also, I'm trying to go where the music's at. Music's my life force. I have a funk band called This Is.. Pretty Fonky which is basically just me at the moment. I am going to do my best to re-form the group with new members once I get settled in California.
You can listen to some Pretty Fonky tunes @ www.soundclick.com/prettyfonky (for hi-def) or wwww.myspace.com/thisisprettyfonky (please be-friend me if you'd like). Creating is the best feeling in world, and I hope others enjoy my musical creations as much as I enjoy creating them. You can get messages across to people in subtle ways when language and sound meet, and that's the point of the whole thing... helping people change for the better.

Aside from makin' music, listening to music and going to shows are two of my favorite things. When I'm at a good show I feel at home in the world. Dancin' my face off is amazing as well. I am always down to listen to new tunes. It just has to be interesting and genuine (most importantly) and I will probably like it. I have an eclectic ear for sure.

Music is definitely a spiritual undertaking . I thrive off of connections with others, and being in bands has helped me to see that without that mutual love between people, music would not exist. I meet people on a more genuine level when I play music with them.

I love genuine people with good intentions, and I feel that I'm good at identifying other self-actualizing individuals. I love to simply converse with positive people. I try to not judge others, and I think this quality is key for an aspiring counselor.

Other stuff... I like being active, skateboarding, biking, working out. I love nature, just looking at the beautiful details in God's artwork.
I try to eat healthy as much as possible. I generally stick to being a pescatarian, but it's difficult here in GA where my options are extremely limited. I'm excited about living in a more health-conscious state like CA.

I enjoy meditating and doing yoga. I'm always looking to achieve greater balance.
I've recently gotten into tattoos. There's something very sacred about putting ink into your body forever. It takes me back to a tribal level. I only have three tattoos and they're all very simple, one of which I did myself.

I love learning how to do things myself, becoming more adaptable, and reaching great levels of self-sufficiency. My adaptability to new situations is one of my best attributes. I also strive to always become more patient, with people and situations. This makes the flow of life move much more smoothly. I pay close attention to details. It saddens me to see people who rush around for no reason, because rushing causes you to miss so much beauty. I pretty much always slow roll; walk slow, drive slow, eat slow, etc., and if you rush me I will likely move even slower.
I am a pretty chill person to be around. I like to talk and connect, but I can also sit in silence around another person and be very content. I don't like to fill the air with mindless chatter.

I love making new friends. If you've read this far, you should consider becoming my friend on here. Maybe we can connect in the flesh one day.

PHILOSOPHY

patience & positivity
+
harmony & balance
= oneness

I make my own meaning. My consciousness shapes my world while also being shaped by the consciousnesses of others. I try to create my environment moreso than it creates me, but like anything one must retain a balance between the push and pull of experience/creation.
The key is projecting a positive outlook onto the world around you. I do not believe in good/bad or right/wrong. It's all subjective and it all ultimately breaks down to how does ones' actions or perceptions positively or negatively effect their environment.

Back in the day, I always worried about pre-destination and the ability for free will to exist. Now I look at life as a steady flow through time, in which being smart and patient leads you to good things. We never know the answer to whether an event was an act of free will or whether it was pre-determined, so thinking like this is fruitless. I used to think there was some concrete meaning behind every event in my life and I would someday find out whether it was free or determined. Now I understand that life is what it is.

There are no rules or limitations in my world. I try to never use the word "can't". But language is not something to dwell on. It is secondary to our existence. I do not let words limit my reality.

Most importantly, I don't take life too seriously. There is humor in almost everything, and I constantly look for that. I don't try too hard to do anything or impress anyone. I live for and love myself. I always maintain a strong sense of self in order to avoid conforming to everyone else's standards.

I am a spiritual fella. I have a clear sense of what/who God is to me. I've yet to find any religion which can satisfy my definition of God. But God is undefinable, so I don't expect man to be able to conceptualize God for me.

Love everyone, haters included. That's my philosophy.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm new to all this, but I'd like to get into the SF Bay Area CS community. I've read about some free hug events, and I'm always a sucker for free hugs. Hopefully, once I have a few couchsurfing experiences I will be able to better gauge my participation. Once I get my own pad, I will be very willing to become a host myself.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've been couchsurfing with friends and a few strangers for the past two months in Carrollton, GA. It's been a very positive experience, met a lot of people I wouldn't have otherwise. I've gained the ability to ask for help when needed, and that's a valuable skill to possess in this life. I'm excited about couch surfing through California in the coming weeks.

Interests

cats, self-realization/actualization, meditation, yoga, MIDI, nasty bass, music festivals, nature, beautiful melodies, recording music, genuine conversations & genuine people, amazing light shows, dance parties, STS9 shows, writing lyrics, analyzing dreams, dreaming, consciousness/unconsciousness, the big picture, extraterrestrials, females, visual art, painting, DJ'ing, Zen, dissonance/harmony, nature trails, cool plants, trees and foliage.

• cats
• arts
• writing
• beauty
• tattoos
• concerts
• music festivals
• festivals
• dancing
• causes
• environment
• yoga
• working out
• meditation
• partying
• socializing
• painting
• drawing
• music
• guitar
• piano
• cycling
• surfing
• skateboarding
• emergency services
• languages
• law
• psychology
• religion
• study abroad
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

movies: A Clockwork Orange, Waking Life, Science of Sleep, American History X, Fight Club, Pulp Fiction

music: Tom Waits, Radiohead, Modest Mouse, Pretty Lights, Lil' Wayne, Pnuma Trio, STS9, GZA, CCR, Aesop Rock, Pavement, Pixies, Frank Zappa, Animal Collective, Built to Spill, Pink Floyd, Nightmares on Wax, Daedelus, Prefuse '73
These are my main squeezes. I listen to a lot more music than just this. I love dance music, particularly bass heavy experimental glitch-hop and things of the like. I have a strong listening history of indie rock. I try to keep my style eclectic and open-minded. I will give any music a try to someone else recommends.

books: Catcher in the Rye, Brave New World, Lord of the Flies, Being Peace, On Becoming a Person, Women, Ham on Rye, The Alchemist, Fight Club, Invisible Monsters

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I tried to sneak into an STS9 show in Atlanta two days before New Year's this year and got caught, spent the night in jail, got out in the morning and had my cell phone confiscated by the police in the process. I went back to the venue the next night to deal with the cell phone issue and ended up being let into the sold-out New Year's show by the same cops who arrested me the night before. They said they were letting me in since I was cool to them when they arrested me. I saw the most amazing concert of my entire life that night.

The beautiful hills of Tuscany are one of the most amazing sites I've ever seen.I was fortunate enough to spend five weeks in Montepulciano, Italy for study abroad in the summer of 2006.

I visited Amsterdam for a few days during my stay in Italy. It was truly enriching to see a society so vastly different than the society I experience in the southeast.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm versed in psychology, especially aspects of humanistic and transpersonal psychology. I know a good deal about psychiatry and psychotropic substances. I know about dream interpretation. I am always willing to share knowledge about psychology, because it relates to everyone.

I am also strong in English language, technical aspects and literary analysis. I would like to learn different languages. I know a bit of French, but I would definitely like to learn more conversational French. Also, I hope to learn some conversational Spanish while I'm in California.

I am decent at playing most musical instruments. I'm self-taught so I'm always learning more. My primary instruments are guitar and voice. I love piano, and want very badly to become better at it. I mess around with synthesizers and drum pads, so if you want to learn about that kind of stuff I'd be glad to try and show you. I'm always striving to learn new things musically, and the best way I've found is through jamming with other people. I will jam with anyone, no matter than style. Everyone has something to offer.